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Writer's pictureManushya Foundation
May 16, 2023

Today is International Day Against Homophobia, Biphobia, Intersexphobia, and Transphobia (IDAHOBIT)!











Today is International Day Against Homophobia, Biphobia, Intersexphobia, and Transphobia (IDAHOBIT)!


Thank you to the talented @zorageraldus (on IG) for creating this comic!

Today is about supporting the LGBTIQ+ community’s resilience while raising awareness about the violence and discrimination LGBTIQ+ people have to endure. LGBTIQ+ people are often treated as a threat to traditional ideas of family and society – but they are not!

Sexual orientation and gender identity should not limit anybody’s opportunities, not in a society where we want all of us to be treated as equals. Yet transphobia, homophobia, biphobia, intersexphobia, and other forms of hate against gender non-conforming people and those who do not adhere to the heterosexual agenda remains prevalent.

Some important data ⤵️

📌 11 countries across the globe have death penalty as a possible punishment for private, consensual same-sex activity.

🚫 14 countries criminalize trans people under “cross-dressing,” “impersonation,” and “disguise” laws. In Myanmar, it is punishable by 10 years imprisonment, while in Malaysia, it can lead up to 20 years imprisonment and whipping.

🆘 In March 2023, Uganda passed a bill criminalizing same-sex behavior and making it punishable by death.

❌ During the COVID-19 pandemic, Philippines used humiliation as punishment for those who violated curfew rules. In one incident, several LGBTIQ+ persons running errands past the established curfew were forced to kiss, dance, and do push-ups–everything being caught on video.

❗Despite being widely discredited by professionals, conversion therapy continues to be practiced in many countries across the globe. While some states took steps to ban this practice in 2022, most Asian countries have not made any progress in this area. For example, between 2016 and 2022, the Malaysian Government had a mobile app for the LGBTIQ+ communities meant to help them “return to nature,” which included an e-book about the positive experiences of a gay man who “abandoned homosexuality.”

In 2023, we continue to live in a world where people are unsafe for simply being who they are. They are hunted down, banished from their own homes, and refused basic human rights. This is a reminder that if we lived in an intersectional feminist society, this would not be happening!


#WeAreManushyan ∞ Equal Human Beings

✊ Manushya stands in solidarity with the LGBTIQ+ community and will continue to advocate for equal human rights for everyone. We want a future where everyone feels safe and no violence against LGBTIQ+ people occurs on a daily basis!


👉 While you’re here, have a look at some of our previous work supporting equal rights:



Sources:


  1. Human Dignity Trust, Map of Countries that Criminalise LGBT People, available at: https://www.humandignitytrust.org/lgbt-the-law/map-of-criminalisation/?type_filter_submitted=&type_filter%5B%5D=death_pen_applies

  2. OHCHR, Uganda: UN experts condemn egregious anti-LGBT legislation, (29 March 2023), available at: https://www.ohchr.org/en/press-releases/2023/03/uganda-un-experts-condemn-egregious-anti-lgbt-legislation

  3. Human Rights Watch, Philippines Uses Humiliation as COVID Curfew Punishment, (8 August 2020), available at: https://www.hrw.org/news/2020/04/08/philippines-uses-humiliation-covid-curfew-punishment

  4. Global Equality Caucus, Which countries banned ‘conversion therapy’ in 2022?, (13 December 2022), available at: https://equalitycaucus.org/news/article/which-countries-banned-conversion-therapy-in-2022

  5. The Guardian, Malaysian government’s ‘gay conversion’ app pulled by Google Play, (17 March 2022), available at: https://www.theguardian.com/world/2022/mar/17/malaysian-governments-gay-conversion-app-pulled-by-google-play

  6. International Bar Association, LGBTI rights: Many challenges in Southeast Asia remain, despite victories in Singapore and Vietnam, (14 September 2022), available at: https://www.ibanet.org/LGBTI-rights-Many-challenges-in-Southeast-Asia

  7. Nikkei Asia, LGBT+ rights in Asia: Small steps forward and big steps back, (31 May 2022), available at: https://asia.nikkei.com/Spotlight/Asia-Insight/LGBT-rights-in-Asia-Small-steps-forward-and-big-steps-back



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